Hammerwatch (Preview)

“Hammerwatch” is an upcoming game that bears a resemblance to a personal childhood favorite, “Gauntlet.” Players will be able to fly solo or team up with the goal of making it out of Castle Hammerwatch alive. Before we get started with the preview, I’d like to thank Jochum Skoglund and Niklas Myrberg for providing me with access to the Beta. It’s important to note that because the game is currently in the Beta stage, the content and pictures you’ll see below are subject to change.

Editor’s Note:

I have since reviewed the game (as of 8/15/13), which you can find here:

The main menu currently allows the player to play single player, try out multiplayer (local and internet), and adjust game options. With this being a preview, I don’t want to delve into the options menu too much as things may change between now and the game’s release, but suffice it to say that your basics are covered. I was genuinely surprised by the amount of options that I had access to…normally the Alpha and Beta builds I try out barely touch on the basics. I had a wide range of graphics options to toggle and I was able to choose between a lot of different screen resolutions. While the game doesn’t have a help menu (it’s grayed out), there is a readme file available to get you acclimated to the controls and gameplay mechanics. Kudos to a great start!

The single and multiplayer games start the same way in that you’ll be able to choose between one of three characters: the Paladin, the Wizard, and the Ranger. A fourth class, the Warlock, is currently grayed out on the single player character selection screen. If you’re playing multiplayer, you’ll have the ability to set modifiers that change the game in various ways. You can make the game harder with the “no extra lives” or “shared hp pool”, if you wanted to. Likewise, you can make the game easier with “infinite lives” and “hp regen”, just to name a few examples on both sides.

The wizard’s flame spray is great for groups of enemies.

The three classes are very unique in their play style, but I personally loved the wizard. Those who know me and my prefered tastes won’t be surprised in the least by that remark. The wizard is a powerful magic wielder, but has a low health pool. The paladin is quite the opposite, doing damage up close with a generous supply of health. The ranger shoots arrows at range and has more health than the wizard. All three classes have secondary abilities that require mana to cast and are each powerful in their own right.

Players will be going through the map, dispatching enemies, collecting money, eating food / absorbing mana crystals, and picking up keys. Hitting tab brings up the minimap, allowing players to see where they’ve been and where they still need to explore. Potions can be found and consumed via the “F” key. Movement is as simple as using the WASD keys, with the arrow keys used for attacking.

There are three different types of keys, which each open a specific type of door. Collect as many keys as you can!

It looks and feels like “Gauntlet”, but has a charm all its own. I really enjoyed my time with the Beta and I fully intend to keep playing it, all the while eagerly awaiting the final product. I personally can’t wait to get the kids in on some local co-op. I’d also like to commend the game for being so polished, which is rare in a Beta build. Keep an eye out for gameplay videos as I’ll be posting them from time to time. I’ll also have more information outlined in the review after the game’s release, which is scheduled sometime in the second quarter of 2013. It’s important to note that the game requires “.NET framework” to run and “OpenAL” for sound. The game uses port 9995 for multiplayer and currently has no chat feature, so be sure to use Ventrilo (or the equivalent) until that functionality becomes available.

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I have since reviewed the game (as of 8/15/13), which you can find here: